Installation for individually tailored filling of blister packs with medication according to predetermined prescription data

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to an installation for the individually tailored filling of blister packs ( 25 ) with medication according to predetermined prescription data, the blister packs ( 25 ) having receiving compartments for respective medication administration units, said compartments being arranged in a matrix configuration in rows corresponding to a number of administration times during a day and columns corresponding to a number of days, for example weekdays. The installation comprises a plurality of medication filling stations ( 40 ), arranged one behind the other, for filling each blister pack ( 25 ) with the respective specified medication and a transport device ( 10 ) designed to transport the blister packs ( 25 ) individually one behind the other in a direction of travel alongside the medication filling stations ( 40 ). Each medication filling station ( 40 ) has a pre-batch cartridge ( 50 ) comprising multiple pre-batch compartments ( 51 ), said cartridge being movable between two positions and being designed to take up the medication in one or more of the pre-batch compartments ( 51 ) in a first position and in a second position to dispense the medication from the pre-batch compartments ( 51 ) into corresponding receiving compartments ( 26 ) of the blister pack ( 25 ). As a result of the use of the pre-batch cartridge, which can be moved between a take-up position and a dispensing position, for filling the blister packs, the time-critical process of filling the blister pack can be decoupled from the mechanically complex process of ejecting the medication units from the blister strip, thus increasing the efficiency and reliability of the installation.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to an installation for individually tailoredfilling of blister packs with medication according to predeterminedprescription data, the blister packs having receiving compartments forrespective medication administration units, said compartments beingarranged in a matrix configuration in rows corresponding to a number ofintake times during a day and columns corresponding to a number of days,for example weekdays.

RELATED PRIOR ART

DE 10 2004 034 024 A2 discloses an individual blister pack for theweekly medication requirement of a patient (weekly blister) who is totake the medication in a sequence arranged according to date, day of theweek and time of day (morning, midday and evening and/or night). Thereceiving compartments of the blister pack for receiving the respectivemedication are arranged in matrix form with seven day columns each withat least three time-of-day compartments which are sealed overall by acontinuous blister film. A box-shaped lid containing the composition ofthe individual time-of-day compartments and prescription informationrelating to the respective medication is attached to the blister pack.

For patients who have to take a plurality of different medications on aregular basis, weekly blister packs are an aid, on the one hand, for notforgetting to take important medication and, on the other hand, also forretaining a reliable overview of what medications have already beentaken in order to avoid potentially harmful overmedication.

WO 2005 102 841 A1 discloses an installation for filling blister packsof this type tailored to the patient with the desired combination ofmedications. For each medication an output station is provided, which bymeans of rams assigned spatially to the receiving compartments of theblister pack conveys the respective medication from a temporarypackaging in the form of a blister strip into the correspondingreceiving compartments of the packaging unit. All of the blister packstailored to the patient pass through all of the output stations of theinstallation in cycles, medication being taken up only at those stationswhich correspond to the prescription data assigned to the individualblister pack. Packaging units tailored to the patient can in this way befully automatically filled safely and reliably with a selection fromseveral hundred medications.

Since the medications processed by the packaging installation areprescribed in very different amounts, relatively long “standing times”in the temporary packaging, i.e. the blister strips, may arise in thecase of medication prescribed less often. So that the medication doesnot become unusable due to the penetration of moisture or the like, theblister strips must therefore have good sealing of the receiving spacefor the medication, in particular against water vapour. On the otherhand, this has the disadvantage that when a mechanical force is appliedto the medication unit by the ram, the seal does not tear open reliablyat the correct place or completely, so that errors may occur in thefilling of the blister pack. Since merely incorrect filling of onecompartment necessarily causes rejection of the entire blister pack,errors in the “repacking” of the medication from the blister strip intothe blister pack are associated with a high outlay and costs. A furtherdisadvantage is that because it is operated in cycles, maintenance of amedication filling station leads to a standstill of the entireinstallation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the invention to propose an installationfor individually tailored filling of blister packs with medicationaccording to predetermined prescription data which has improvedefficiency and reliability

The object is achieved by an installation for individually tailoredfilling of blister packs with medication according to predeterminedprescription data, the blister packs having receiving compartments forrespective medication administration units, said compartments beingarranged in a matrix configuration in rows corresponding to a number ofintake times during a day and columns corresponding to a number of days,for example weekdays, comprising a number of medication filling stationsarranged one after the other for filling the blister packs with in eachcase a particular medication, and a transport device constructed fortransporting the blister packs individually one after the other in adirection of movement alongside the medication filling stations, eachmedication filling station having a premetering cartridge which can bemoved between two positions, has several premetering compartments and isset up to receive the medication in one or a plurality of thepremetering compartments in a first position and to release themedication from the premetering compartments into correspondingreceiving compartments of the blister pack in a second position.

By the use of the premetering cartridge which can be moved between areceiving position and a releasing position for filling the blisterpacks, the time-critical operation of filling the blister pack isdecoupled from the mechanically difficult operation of ejecting themedication units out of the blister strip and the efficiency andreliability of the installation are thus increased.

Preferably, the medication is fed into each medication filling stationby means of a blister strip, each medication filling station having oneor more ejector rams for ejecting the medication out of blister pocketsof the blister strip into the premetering compartments of thepremetering cartridge. To increase the functional reliability, theblister strips can preferably be moved only in one direction.

For releasing the medication into the receiving compartments of theblister pack, the premetering cartridge preferably has a base which canbe displaced in the transverse direction in the second position thereof,which ensures a rapid and reliable transfer of medication into thereceiving compartments of the blister pack.

The premetering compartments of the premetering cartridge are preferablyconstructed in a row such that, in the second position, they are in eachcase arranged above the receiving compartments of the blister pack whichare arranged in a row corresponding to a number of (week)days. By thesimultaneous transfer of medication into, for example, seven daycompartments of the blister pack time can be saved in this way.

Each medication filling station preferably has at least one sensordevice for checking correct receipt of the medication in the premeteringcompartments of the premetering cartridge and/or correct release of themedication into the receiving compartments of the blister pack.

In this context, the premetering cartridge can have slots arrangedlaterally in the region of the resting position of a medication in thepremetering compartments, a first sensor means being constructed todetect visually through the slots a medication in the premeteringcompartments during a movement of the premetering cartridge from thefirst into the second position and vice versa.

The base of the premetering compartments of the premetering cartridgecan be transparent or light-reflecting and a second sensor device cancomprise a camera for detecting medication present on the base of thepremetering compartments.

By means of the sensor devices, filling errors can be detected withcertainty, reliably and rapidly and incorrectly filled blister packs canthen be reliably rejected in a separate method step.

For cleaning purposes, the premetering cartridge can have a replaceableinner lining made of plastics material.

Preferably, the blister packs are driven by means of a magnetic trackwith a linear motor, as a result of which individual control andreliable transport of a large number of blister packs is possible.Preferably, workpiece carriers guided in a magnetic track are providedfor receiving the blister packs, which workpiece carriers are conveyedin a closed circuit, the blister packs being placed on the workpiececarriers before being filled and being removed again after the fillingoperation.

The installation according to the invention can furthermore have acamera arranged above the transport device for visual checking of thecorrect filling of the blister pack according to the prescription data.

The premetering cartridge can be constructed in a freely accessiblemanner for manual feeding in of a medication. As a result, medicationwhich is required very rarely can be fed in manually or using otherfeeding techniques without losses in the efficiency of the installation.

The method according to the invention preferably comprises the methodstep of establishing and attaching a documentation carrier on theblister pack, comprising information relating to the individual and/orinformation on the use of the medication packaged in the blister pack.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is explained in detail in the following with the aid ofembodiments with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic detailed view from above of an embodiment of aninstallation according to the invention for individually tailoredfilling of blister packs.

FIG. 2 is an embodiment of a blister pack for use with the installationaccording to the invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic detailed view from above to show the progress ofthe method for filling a blister pack according to an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a premetering cartridgeof the installation according to the invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic detailed internal view of an embodiment of amedication output station according to the invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view to show the progress of themethod for filling a blister pack according to an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram to explain the method steps of an embodiment ofthe method according to the invention for individually tailored fillingof blister packs.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of an embodiment of an installation according to theinvention for individually tailored filling of blister packs to explainthe transport of the blister packs in the installation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a filling module 41 of an embodimentof the installation according to the invention for individually tailoredfilling of blister packs 25. In the embodiment shown, such a fillingmodule 41 comprises five medication filling stations 40 arranged oneafter the other, each of which is provided for output of dosing units ofa particular medication type. The number of medication filling stations40 combined in a filling module 41 is of course not limited to five, butcan be selected according to space conditions or expediency. Likewise,the total number of medication filling modules 41 in the installation isnot limited to a particular number. The total number of filling stations40 in this context in principle determines the maximum number ofmedications which can be blister-packed with the installation, it alsobeing possible for more than one filling station to be provided formedications which are used particularly frequently.

The installation according to the invention is used for individuallytailored filling of blister packs with medication according topredetermined prescription data for a particular person/patient. FIG. 2a shows an embodiment of a blister pack 25 for use with the installationaccording to the invention in perspective view, and FIGS. 2 b and 2 c incross-sectional view with and without the blister film 27, respectively.As shown schematically in FIG. 2, the blister pack 25 has receivingcompartments 26 arranged in a matrix configuration, which in theembodiment shown are arranged in four rows corresponding to a number ofintake times during a day (morning, midday, evening, night) and sevencolumns corresponding to the days of a week. However, the invention isnot limited to this specific arrangement of the receiving compartments26 of the blister pack.

With reference again to FIG. 1, a guide rail 11 is shown constructed asa magnetic rail 11 for transporting the blister packs 25, which in thiscase lie on a workpiece carrier 20 (shown schematically in FIG. 6).Preferably, for this the workpiece carrier 20 is provided with troughs(not shown) corresponding to the arrangement of the receivingcompartments 26 of the blister pack 25. At the start of the fillingoperation, the blister packs 25 are placed on the workpiece carrier 20and pass individually and one after the other through the entire pathfrom the first filling station to the last filling station of thefilling installation. Each blister pack is thereby controlledindividually and stops only at those filling stations 40 at which amedication filling operation into the respective blister pack 25 isrequired according to the prescription data of the respective patient.Typically, a blister pack 25 thus stops at three to seven fillingstations at which the respective medication is fed in rows by means of apremetering cartridge 50, as will be explained in detail later withreference to FIGS. 3 to 6. Preferably, in the transfer region of themedications a clean room region is provided, which is given thereference numeral 30 in FIG. 1. Preferably, in this clean room region 30germ-free and low-particle air is blown from the roof downwards, whichprevents germs or undesirable dust particles from entering into theopened blister pack 25.

Downstream of a filling module 41 a phototunnel 32 with a camera (notshown) is provided, which establishes a visual image of the blister pack25 after passing through the preceding filling module 41. With the aidof the image of the blister pack obtained by the camera in thephototunnel 32, evaluation electronics can check whether the fillingwith medication has been correctly implemented according to therespective prescription data of the patient.

FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view ofthe medication filling operation at a medication filling station 40. Thefilling module 25 is first conveyed with the aid of the workpiececarrier 20 to the envisaged medication filling module 40. The fillingmodule 20 stops its movement and the premetering cartridge 50 performs amovement perpendicular to the direction of movement of the blister pack,as indicated in FIGS. 6 a and 6 b by means of an arrow. At the end ofthis transverse movement, a premetering compartment 51 is in each caseto be found over a weekday compartment 26 of a row of the blister pack25 (FIG. 3 a and FIG. 6 c). An opening mechanism of the premeteringcompartments 51 of the premetering cartridge 50 is then activated, sothat the medications present in the premetering compartments 51 dropfrom a low dropping height into the corresponding compartments 26 of theblister pack 25. In the embodiment of the invention shown, the openingmechanism of the premetering cartridge is constructed as a displaceablebase 55 of the premetering cartridge. Other mechanisms, such as foldingmechanisms or the like, however, are likewise possible in the context ofthe invention. If the medication 28 “dispensed” at the output station 40is still required in another day row of the blister pack 25 (for examplefor a medication intake in the morning and evening), the blister pack istransported further by the corresponding number of rows and thepremetering cartridge 50 moves back (FIG. 3 d and FIG. 6 d) and isprovided with a renewed portioning of the medications, which are thenfilled into the further time of day row of the blister pack 25 in thesame manner. When the filling operation with this particular medicationis concluded, the blister pack 25 moves to the next envisaged medicationfilling station 40.

An embodiment of a premetering cartridge 50 is shown in a schematicperspective view in FIG. 4. A total of seven premetering compartments 51is provided, corresponding to the seven weekday columns of the blisterpack 25, a different number of compartments 51 also being possibleaccording to the invention. Preferably, the premetering compartments 51are constructed in the form of a transparent internal lining made ofplastics material which can be replaced for cleaning purposes and whichcan be fixed on a stable frame part 54 preferably made of metal. In thelower region of the side walls of the premetering compartments 51 slots52 are provided on both sides for visual checking of whether or not amedication is present in the respective premetering compartment.

The mechanism for feeding the medication 28 into the premeteringcartridge 50 of a medication filling station 40 is shown schematicallyin FIG. 5. In the embodiment shown the medication is fed by means of acontinuous blister strip 45 which has blister pockets 46 arrangedequidistantly for receiving the medication dosages, the distance betweenthe individual blister pockets 46 of the blister strip 45 correspondingto the distance of the premetering compartments 51 of the premeteringcartridge 50. The blister strip 45 present in the respective medicationfilling stations 40 is preferably unrolled from a roll known per se withthe aid of a drive mechanism (not shown). When a blister strip 45 isused up, a new, filled blister strip roll can be mounted in themedication filling station 40 and/or the new blister strip can be gluedor fastened directly on to the existing blister strip withoutdifficulty, so that an uninterrupted supply of medication is ensured.For medication prescribed very rarely, for which blister-packing in astrip is not worthwhile, at least one medication filling station 40 canbe provided for manual filling of the premetering cartridge 50. It isthereby possible to increase the flexibility of the installation andalso to accommodate very rarely prescribed medication in theblister-packing under economic conditions.

As shown in FIG. 5, each medication filling station 40 has ejector rams42 for ejecting the medication 28 out of the blister strip 45 into thepremetering cartridge 50. Preferably, the ejector rams 42 are providedin a number corresponding to the number of premetering compartments 51of the premetering cartridge 50 for time-saving parallel ejection of themedication units; however, this is not absolutely necessary andsequential ejection of the medication is likewise possible.

Preferably, a medication filling station 40 has at least two sensordevices 47, 48 for checking the correct blister strip-premeteringcartridge-blister pack transfer of medication. A first transmitted lightcamera or light barrier 47 ascertains through the slots 52 provided onthe premetering compartments 51 whether a medication is present in thecorresponding premetering compartment 51 during the outwards movement ofthe premetering cartridge 50 and whether it is no longer present thereinduring the later inwards movement, as a result of which the correctrelease of the medication units into the corresponding compartments ofthe blister pack can be validated. In addition, an incident light camera48 is preferably provided which likewise visually validates the fillingstatus of the premetering compartments 51 before transfer of medicationto the blister pack and thereafter, either by means of reflected lightor as a transmitted light detector. In the latter case, the base of thepremetering cartridge 50 must be constructed to be transparent to light.

Compared with the prior art known from WO 2005 102 841 A1, the use ofthe premetering cartridge 50 in the filling installation according tothe invention ensures that the ejection operation from the blister strip45 and the filling operation on the blister pack 25 are decoupled fromone another. As a result, the filling operation on the blister pack 25which is time-critical for the efficiency of the entire installation canbe optimised with respect to speed, while more time is available for theejection operation from the blister strip 45, which is mechanicallydifficult to perform, without the efficiency of the entire installationbeing impaired.

According to the invention, to convey the workpiece carrier 12 amagnetic rail system 10 with a linear motor drive is preferablyprovided, which rail system allows each workpiece carrier 20 andtherefore the blister pack 25 present thereon to be guided individually.The magnetic rail system 10 has a self-contained guide rail 11, shown incross section in FIG. 6. Each workpiece carrier 20 has a guide element12 which encompasses the guide rail 11 and is guided in the guide rail11 with or without contact (sliding, rolling) in a manner known per sein accordance with the principle of a magnetic levitation train. Anelectric linear motor which is likewise known per se ensures theindividually controllable propulsion of the workpiece carrier 20 andtherefore of the blister pack 25.

An embodiment of the method according to the invention for individuallytailored filling of blister packs is explained in the following withreference to FIGS. 7 and 8.

At the start of the filling zone before the first filling module 41 ablister pack feeding station 60 is provided, shown schematically in FIG.8. A blister pack removal station 61 is correspondingly arranged at theend of the filling zone.

In a first method step S2 (FIG. 7) an empty blister pack 25 is thusplaced on the workpiece carrier 20 in the blister pack feeding station60. In method step S4 the filling stations to be approached, in theembodiment shown in FIG. 8 these are stations A, B and C, are then (orsimultaneously) determined. For the blister pack 25 in question, it isnow checked in method step S6 whether or not the transport path to thenext filling station to be approached is occupied by a preceding blisterpack involved in a filling operation at a filling station lying inbetween. If this is the case the blister pack 25 in question follows orwaits for the preceding blister pack according to method step S8. On theother hand, if the path to the next filling station 40 to be approachedis free, the blister pack 25 travels according to step S10 at themaximum transport speed to this next medication filling station 40,where the filling operation is carried out in method step S12. Methodsteps S6 to S12 are repeated until it is ascertained in step S14 thatthe last envisaged filling station is reached. In method step S16 theblister pack is then removed at the blister pack removal station 61, theblister pack 25 is sealed with the blister film 27 and an informationcard (not shown) with patient identification information andprescription information for the patient is printed and this informationcard is attached to the blister. Finally, the filled blister pack 25provided with the information card is ready for dispatch (step S20).

FIG. 8 shows schematically the various states of movement of the blisterpack. State of movement (1), shown by a cross-hatched rectangle with anarrow, designates a forward movement with maximum speed to the nextmedication filling station to be guided towards or to a “waiting line”of preceding blister packs, state of movement (2), shown by a solidrectangle, designates a filling operation at a medication fillingstation 40, state of movement (3), shown by a cross-hatched rectanglewithout an arrow, designates a forwards movement of the blister pack ina “waiting line” behind a preceding blister pack, and state of movement(4), shown by a rectangle with a cross, designates the return movementof an empty workpiece carrier 20 to the blister pack feeding station 60.Since the number of filling stations to be guided towards by eachindividual blister is relatively low in relation to the total number offilling stations, the distances which can be covered with maximum speed(state of movement (1)) are relatively long, so that the efficiency ofthe entire installation can be improved considerably compared with aninstallation operated in cycles, as disclosed in WO 2005 102 841 A1.This also applies if the sequence of the individual blister packs 25 isoptimised not with respect to the blister-packing but with respect to adispatch sequence or packaging sequence to the end users (pharmacies).

By the use of the premetering cartridge 50 inserted between the blisterstrip 45 and the blister pack 25, the invention makes it possible todecouple the time-critical operation of filling the blister pack 25 fromthe mechanically difficult operation of ejecting the medication unitsout of the blister strip 45 and therefore to considerably increase theefficiency and reliability of the blister-packing operation. Thepossibility of manual filling of the premetering cartridge furthermoreallows the economically appropriate extension of the blister-packingalso to very rarely prescribed medication.

1. An apparatus for individually tailored filling of blister packs withmedication according to predetermined prescription data, wherein theblister packs have receiving compartments for respective medicationadministration units, said compartments being arranged in a matrixconfiguration in rows corresponding to a number of intake times during aday and columns corresponding to a number of days, for example weekdays,comprising: a number of medication filling stations arranged one afterthe other for filling the blister packs with in each case a particularmedication, and a transport device constructed for transporting theblister packs individually one after the other in a direction ofmovement alongside the medication filling stations, wherein eachmedication filling station has a premetering cartridge which can bemoved between two positions, has a plurality of premetering compartmentsand is set up to receive the medication in one or a plurality of thepremetering compartments in a first position and to dispense themedication from the premetering compartments into correspondingreceiving compartments of the blister pack in a second position.
 2. Theapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the medication is fed into eachmedication filling station by means of a blister strip and eachmedication filling station has one or a plurality of ejector rams forejecting the medication out of blister pockets of the blister strip intothe premetering compartments of the premetering cartridge.
 3. Theapparatus according to claim 2, wherein the blister strip can be movedonly in one direction in a medication filling station.
 4. The apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the premetering cartridge has a base whichcan be displaced in the transverse direction in the second positionthereof for dispensing the medication into the receiving compartments ofthe blister pack.
 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thepremetering compartments of the premetering cartridge are constructed ina row such that, in the second position, they are in each case arrangedabove the receiving compartments of the blister pack which are arrangedin a row corresponding to a number of (week)days.
 6. The apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein each medication filling station has atleast one sensor device for checking correct receipt of the medicationin the premetering compartments of the premetering cartridge and/orcorrect release of the medication into the receiving compartments of theblister pack.
 7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein thepremetering cartridge has slots arranged laterally in the region of theresting position of a medication in the premetering compartments and afirst sensor means is constructed to detect visually through the slots amedication in the premetering compartments during a movement of thepremetering cartridge from the first into the second position and viceversa.
 8. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the base of thepremetering compartments of the premetering cartridge is transparent orlight-reflecting and a second sensor means comprises a camera fordetecting medication present on the base of the premeteringcompartments.
 9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thepremetering cartridge has a replaceable inner lining made of plasticmaterial.
 10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transportdevice is constructed as a magnetic track with a linear motor fordriving the blister packs.
 11. The apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the transport device is constructed for transporting workpiececarriers, which are guided in a magnetic rail, for receiving the blisterpacks.
 12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the transportdevice is constructed as a closed track on which the workpiece carriersare conveyed in a closed circuit, the blister packs being placed on theworkpiece carriers before being filled and being removed again after thefilling operation.
 13. The apparatus according to claim 1, furthercomprising a camera arranged above the transport device for visualchecking of the correct filling of the blister packs according to theprescription data.
 14. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thepremetering cartridge is freely accessible for manual feeding of amedication into said cartridge.
 15. The apparatus according to claim 1,having a device for establishing and attaching a documentation carrieron the blister pack comprising information relating to the individualand/or information on the use of the medication packaged in the blisterpack.